 Poster: A snowHead
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I’m sure we all want to ski better every time we go off on our hols, and over the years we have had so much advice from ..
Instructors
Ski Buddies
Ski Gurus
Your mates
Mum & Dad
But what, if any of these “Bend Zee Neez!” advice and tips have really helped?
Or do you have any little gems to pass on?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@DrLawn, ankles
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Well said ... you've obviously seen my cock eyed stance.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Stand on your skis at the start of the turn.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@rob@rar, I aim, not always successfully, still to be standing on them at the end of the turn. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Hurtle, 
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OK ... we've got the ankles covered anything else?
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Ski as if your bindings are broken i.e. they are just barely holding your boots - you have to be really centered and standing on the skis, as if there was too much pressure on toe or heel they'd fly off.
That got me out of the back seat better than anything else, and I still think about it at the start of every day to get my balance right.
And it's from the fantastic Gavin Crosby!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Your poles are 5cm too long. 10cm if you want to ski bumps well.
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Thanx Fixx, a proper answer!
I'll put that one on my list.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Dave of the Marmottes... I thought they were ... when did you notice that?
So far then .. I've got that left ankle sorted out.
undo the binding even lower...
circumcise my ski poles..
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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For correct hip position- "less sh*tting, more f**king". Got that from chalet colleagues 10 years ago...When I think that, I find I make a subtle adjustment-bringing hips forward. Helps avoid the classic beginner /early intermediate "toilet seat" position. Even though I like to think I would now call myself advanced/early expert skier it still works.
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| DrLawn wrote: |
circumcise my ski poles.. |
If you do that you'll have Frosty coming after you 
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You know it makes sense.
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| Perty wrote: |
| For correct hip position- "less sh*tting, more f**king". Got that from chalet colleagues 10 years ago...When I think that, I find I make a subtle adjustment-bringing hips forward. Helps avoid the classic beginner /early intermediate "toilet seat" position. Even though I like to think I would now call myself advanced/early expert skier it still works. |
Thats brilliant 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| DrLawn wrote: |
Dave of the Marmottes... I thought they were ... when did you notice that?
So far then .. I've got that left ankle sorted out.
undo the binding even lower...
circumcise my ski poles.. |
Well remember that very moist grey out powder day on the last day....
No it's generic advice that applies to most skiers.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Allow a more relaxed tall stance mid turn... it is not necessary to emulate a bloody slalom racer and knacker your thighs continuously.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Scarpa wrote: |
| Allow a more relaxed tall stance mid turn... it is not necessary to emulate a bloody slalom racer and knacker your thighs continuously. |
This.
Makes for a more enjoyable day.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Head up.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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right foot, right boot, left foot, left boot.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Get yourself a lesson, not a "tip" off the internet
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Get big comfy boots, you are meant to be on holiday.
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A Canadian ski guide gave me his 3 rules of skiing:
1. Speed is your friend
2. Turning is a sign of weakness
3. Nobody gets hurt in the air...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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1. In general, every movement feels bigger than it really is, you need to exaggerate
- you think you are angulating a lot, you can go further
- you think you are compressing a lot on the bumps, do it more
2. In powder - be patient, don't rush, let the skis come round, don't force them - when you flex, wait a fraction longer than you think you need before extending
3. In powder - DO NOT lean back, it only looks like good skiers do that because the skis are planning
4. Big carved turns - find the courage to let your body fall down the hill at the transition
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| jedster wrote: |
.. the skis are planning
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My skis do that, but they never tell me about it 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Learn to tele
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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in difficult conditions, curl up your toes instead of "gripping" the boot sole - it will relax your feet and reduce pain.
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Feel.
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You know it makes sense.
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Here's another one which works in "mixed terrain" and off piste- advice from owner of Powder Mountain cat skiing near Whistler-tighten your tummy muscles. Dunno why...but somehow it makes the rest of you relax and more able to absorb the bumps and ice and variations in terrain. Works for me anyway.
Another snippet from an excellent guide-Gianni Carbone (much mentioned here as a guide to hunt out in Courmayeur) for off piste in powder : so many instructors talk about even pressure, but it's a hard thing to actually do and know that you are doing it. He just suggested consciously standing on or pressuring the uphill ski (I pull it a bit back under me) on a turn, especially the end-for me that has been a bit of a lightbulb moment. It probably in fact makes me even out the pressure, even if it doesn't sound like that is what I am trying to do.
And finally...from Lynn Stainbrook-a lovely American instructor based in Flaine- for turn initiation, pull uphill foot back slightly- which has the effect of starting to pressure the inside edge of the uphill ski and grip around the turn.
Sometimes I think my brain just needs to be told to do the mirror image of the usual mantras - so rather than absorbing bumps, I am better at conceptualising pushing the tips of my skis down into the troughs between them. Similarly-pulling my feet back under me is much easier to do than putting my body weight over parts of the ski.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Perty wrote: |
| Sometimes I think my brain just needs to be told to do the mirror image of the usual mantras - so rather than absorbing bumps, I am better at conceptualising pushing the tips of my skis down into the troughs between them. Similarly-pulling my feet back under me is much easier to do than putting my body weight over parts of the ski. |
Me too! My 'favourite'/most hated thing from instructors is when they say "Lift the inside ski"!
When they say that - I'm automatically thinking of the action my inside leg has to do, so all my focus is there, and then the pressure quickly follows - so it's impossible to do the drill.
Once I realised this I just started ignoring any instructor that said it - I just remind myself that the pressure is on the outside ski anyway, and focus on that leg. Then it doesn't matter where the inside leg/ski etc is - so I might as well wave it about in the air, doesn't make any difference. Easy peasy. And gets to the point of what the instructor actually wanted me to do (demonstrate the pressure is on the outside ski), even though they didn't actually say that's what they wanted.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| fixx wrote: |
Me too! My 'favourite'/most hated thing from instructors is when they say "Lift the inside ski"!
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Me too. I hate hate hate that 1 footed stuff. I understand why they do it because its a way to stop you cheating and its easy for them to observe but for me it takes the focus to completely the wrong place. And for those of us even more disadvantaged with simple male brains that only process in series not parallel then its almost impossible to catch up.
I much prefer "feel" even if it is harder for thje instructor to then observe. After all that one word is what skiing is all about.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| fixx wrote: |
Me too! My 'favourite'/most hated thing from instructors is when they say "Lift the inside ski"!
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Me too. I hate hate hate that 1 footed stuff. I understand why they do it because its a way to stop you cheating and its easy for them to observe but for me it takes the focus to completely the wrong place. And for those of us even more disadvantaged with simple male brains that only process in series not parallel then its almost impossible to catch up.
I much prefer "feel" even if it is harder for thje instructor to then observe. After all that one word is what skiing is all about.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I have yet to find any brain and body hypnotising tip to make me keep my hands in front and stop excessive movement .  if anyone has something other new on that one, pleeease let me know. I have tried thinking of a tray of drinks, a steering wheel, the dreaded skiing with the poles held out horizontally in front, skiing with the poles held in the middle on either side vertically, making a conscious effort to see my hands and arms are visible at all times. Nothing, nowt, b*gger all has yet to trick mind and body to do what I know I should be doing. Anyone have a magic wand?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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How do you feel about punching (imaginary) dwarves in the face? Or real ones if you can persuade them.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Perty, how about getting rid of your poles for a while...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Perty wrote: |
| I have yet to find any brain and body hypnotising tip to make me keep my hands in front and stop excessive movement . |
Is the movement just your arms or your entire upper body? Do you swing your shoulders around when starting the turn, or is it just the case of flapping your arms around a bit?
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| skimottaret wrote: |
| @Perty, how about getting rid of your poles for a while... |
Recommend! This definitely helped me alot....less to think about.
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Pole planting does a lot to pull my skiing back in shape. Reaching forward to plant makes you stand up to start the turn, the plant commits you to the turn and the repetition on the other side for the next turn stuarts to get the up-down flowing.
Exaggeration as jedster said is also a good one. Amazing to see a video of your skiing after you think you've been doing almost comic exaggurations, only to see zero movement!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@skimottaret, @rob@rar, I think my arms are fine on straightforward slopes. They tend to fling about a bit more off piste, and include my shoulders, though to be fair, it's hard to know exactly what is going on unless I have an out of body experience. Good news however-am doing a 4 week all terrain performance course in Val D'Isere in Jan, so I reckon someone will fix me!
As a rule, I hate drills. They only work if you are told WHY the drill helps. So often, especially, in rubbish lessons by ESF instructors back in the 90s you were made to do the drill without being helped to understand why. As I wrote in post the other day, when I read up on ski technique courtesy of an Ali Ross video and book, and understood why and what makes a ski turn (so why sitting back is a bad idea) I could have screamed...why had no one told me this before! How much money had I spent attending ski school blundering about the mountains not getting it because no one explained the physics of skiing.
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@Perty, I'm sure that course will make a big difference. The book I use as my technical reference is Ron LeMaster's Ultimate Skiing. Excellent if you want a clear understanding of the physics and biomechanics of skiing (although it's not a "how to be a better skier" kind of book).
Drills can be a very powerful way of changing your skiing, but it needs to be the right drill, and the right time, addressing the right things. It's rare that a single drill works for all skiers, so you need to understand what the skier is trying to achieve and make sure the drill is addressing that. Incidentally, that's the reason I think "tips" of the kind addressed in this thread are not especially helpful.
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